Page 60


www.us-tech.com


June, 2017


Using Reverse Engineering to Predict the Future of Electronics


T


he impulse to break a new gadget to “see what’s inside” is often one of the first signs of an


aspiring engineer. However, tear- downs go far beyond pure curiosity: they provide us with critical insights into the nature and construction of these devices. Through the teardowns of


smart phone and wearable devices we can better understand how the SMT industry has changed. These findings also help us forecast where our com- munity is headed, regarding minia- turization and packaging, automa- tion and labor force location, device features, and other important topics. We can create a snapshot of the


SMT assembly industry by looking at the way the iPhone has changed since its introduction in 2007. Components are getting smaller, batteries bigger and the real estate allocated to the PCB is shrinking. Larger displays with higher reso-


lutions require more power. Thinner devices have become a requirement, which in the iPhone 4 led Apple to place the battery to the side of the PCB rather than on top of it.


Under the Cover We have been tearing down


devices for several years now to dis- cover how the devices around us work. We found that this process of figuring out how devices are built can also give us insights into how the manufacturers operate.


By Dr. Bill Cardoso, President, Creative Electron, Inc. This “under the cover” knowl-


edge provides information about innovative design features, how the product works, and even supply chain relationships. Teardowns may


intelligence professionals, and engi- neering leads for semiconductor and component suppliers use reverse engi- neering for a number of reasons. These include figuring out which sock- ets best suit a product, component integration opportunities, techniques used for IC packaging, and what threat is posed by the competition. In the same way, product man- agers, procurement professionals


competitive strengths of internation- al market entrants.


The End of an Era The iPhone’s 3.5 mm audio jack


is gone. At the recent announcement of the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, when Apple executives pronounced the end of the audio jack, “courage” was given as reason to remove this traditional interface from the new crop of iPhones. It’s reasonable to conclude that


A new plastic component fills the space where the iPhone 7’s audio jack was located.


also include an in-depth estimate of the bill of materials (BOM). Once a teardown is complete,


we can figure out the exact BOM for the device. This BOM can be used to determine component selection and supplier relationships. It can also, from generation to generation of these devices, show which of these relationships are flourishing and which are floundering. The knowledge that a company


was picked up as a supplier for a mainstream product can have an pos- itive impact on that supplier’s stock price. Similarly, being dropped from the BOM of an iPhone or Galaxy can negatively impact share value. Product managers, competitive


Apple’s recent acquisition of head- phone maker Beats also played a role, since iPhone 7 users will likely be in the market for new wireless headphones. It is important to pay attention


to the mergers and acquisitions of major players in the SMT market. These moves might not make imme- diate sense, but in the case of Apple’s acquisition of Beats, it was a very early signal of a major shift in the way devices are built. Another change is the improved


X-ray image of the iPhone 7 Plus showing the device’s internal complexity.


and competitive intelligence analysts at OEMs value product teardown reports for their information about emerging component suppliers, best approaches for reducing BOM and manufacturing costs, emerging tech- nologies, best design, sourcing and manufacturing strategies, and the


“Taptic engine” in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. This device is responsible for the haptic or kinesthetic communica- tion that recreates a sense of touch by applying forces that react to the user. Soon mechanical buttons will be a thing of the past. The ability to emulate the push of a button using haptic feedback improves the relia- bility (and water- and dust-proofing) of the iPhone by reducing the num-


Continued on page 63


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